These are the materials I genuinely use and enjoy in my own sketchbooks - from simple beginner essentials to a few favourite extras I’ve collected over the years.

You absolutely do not need expensive materials to enjoy sketching and painting.

Start simple, use what you already have, and slowly build your toolkit over time if you’d like to.

For anyone wanting a closer look, I’ve also created a full Materials Hub with links to many of the tools I use regularly.

If you choose to buy anything from FUUMUUI.com please remember to use my code MAYAD10 at checkout to receive an additional 10% off.

Materials

 

  • Pens

    Micron 003 Black
    Useful for very fine details and lighter sketching lines.

    Micron 005 Black
    Fine black pen for delicate architectural linework and details.

    Paper

    Bockingford NOT A4 Pad
    Mayad's preferred everyday watercolour paper, ideal for pen, ink and loose watercolour washes.

    Brushes

    Pro Arte Series 101 Round Size 8
    A versatile everyday round brush for smaller washes and detail.

    Pro Arte Series 203 Rigger Size 0
    Useful for fine lines, branches, railings and delicate details.

    Pro Arte Series 203 Rigger Size 4
    A larger rigger for expressive linework and looser marks.

    Watercolour Paints

    Burnt Sienna
    A warm earthy brown, very useful for buildings and natural tones.

    Cadmium Red
    A strong warm red for accents and colour mixing.

    Deep Sap Green
    A deeper green for stronger foliage and shadow areas.

    Lemon Yellow
    A fresh yellow for greens, light mixes and bright accents.

    Neutral Tint
    Useful for quick shadows and darkening mixes. Another firm favourite!

    Sap Green
    A very useful green for foliage and natural details.

    Ultramarine Blue
    A core blue for shadows, skies and mixing natural greys.

    Gouache

    Lemon Yellow Gouache
    Useful for opaque yellow highlights and small accents.

    Titanium White Gouache
    Useful for highlights, corrections and final bright details.

    Accessories

    15cm Transparent Grid Ruler
    Ideal for checking proportions, perspective and simple measuring.

    30cm Transparent Ruler
    Useful for practising straight lines and checking perspective.

    Kitchen Paper
    Essential for lifting colour, controlling washes and drying brushes.

    Kneadable Eraser
    A soft eraser that gently lifts graphite without damaging the paper.

    Low-Tack Artist's Masking Tape
    Useful for securing paper and creating clean borders.

    Mono Zero Eraser (Round Tip)
    A precision eraser for tiny details, highlights and fine corrections.

  • Pens & Ink

    Micron 003 Black
    Useful for very fine details and lighter sketching lines.

    Micron 005 Black
    Fine black pen for delicate architectural linework and details.

    Micron 005 Light Cool Grey
    A softer grey pen for gentle lines and subtle detail.

    Platinum Carbon Ink
    A waterproof black ink that works beautifully with watercolour washes if you prefer to use a fountain pen.

    Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.2
    A reliable fine liner for clean drawing and architectural details.

    Brushes

    FUUMUUI Calligraphy Brush No. 3 (Natural Goat Hair)
    A favourite expressive brush for loose, characterful watercolour marks. A studio favourite, but beware—it holds a lot of water!

    Pro Arte Foliater Brush (Medium)
    Helpful for foliage, trees and textured natural marks.

    Pro Arte Series 101 Round Size 8
    A versatile everyday round brush for smaller washes and detail.

    Pro Arte Series 101 Round Size 10
    Useful for larger washes and looser watercolour work.

    Pro Arte Series 203 Rigger Size 0
    Useful for fine lines, branches, railings and delicate details.

    Pro Arte Series 203 Rigger Size 4
    A larger rigger for expressive linework and looser marks.

    Paper

    Bockingford NOT 300gsm (Cold Press)
    Mayad's preferred everyday cold press watercolour paper, ideal for pen, ink and loose watercolour washes. Available in a variety of sizes, although A4 is probably the most useful.

    Watercolour Paints

    Alizarin Crimson
    A deep red useful for rich mixes and shadow colours.

    Brilliant Opera Rose
    A bright pink for lively accents and floral colour.

    Brilliant Purple
    A vivid purple for accents and expressive colour mixes.

    Buff Titanium
    A soft neutral colour for stone, walls and muted mixes.

    Burnt Sienna (5ml)
    A warm earthy brown, very useful for buildings and natural tones.

    Cadmium Orange Deep
    A warm orange for strong accents and glowing mixes.

    Cadmium Red
    A strong warm red for accents and colour mixing.

    Cadmium Yellow (5ml)
    A warm yellow for sunny mixes and bright highlights.

    Cerulean Blue
    A soft blue useful for skies and pale washes.

    Cobalt Blue (5ml)
    A classic blue for skies, shadows and gentle washes.

    Deep Sap Green (5ml)
    A deeper green for stronger foliage and shadow areas.

    Lemon Yellow (5ml)
    A fresh yellow for greens, light mixes and bright accents.

    Naples Yellow
    A soft warm yellow for stone, light walls and gentle mixes.

    Naples Yellow Reddish (5ml)
    A warm creamy colour for buildings and soft architectural tones.

    Natural Sienna
    A warm natural earth tone for buildings and landscapes.

    Neutral Tint (5ml)
    Useful for quick shadows and darkening mixes. Another firm favourite!

    Oxide Black
    A strong dark for deep accents and tonal work.

    Payne's Grey
    A blue-grey dark useful for shadows and moody washes.

    Phthalo Blue
    A strong blue for vivid mixes and intense colour.

    Phthalo Green
    A strong green for mixing vivid foliage colours.

    Quinacridone Magenta
    A bright cool pink-red for vibrant mixes.

    Quinacridone Rose
    A beautiful rose colour for florals, accents and mixing.

    Raw Sienna
    A warm earth colour for buildings, stone and natural washes.

    Sap Green (5ml)
    A very useful green for foliage and natural details.

    Sepia
    A rich brown for dark architectural details and warm shadows.

    Transparent Pyrrol Orange
    A bright orange useful for lively accents and warm colour pops.

    Transparent Red Oxide
    A beautiful earthy red-orange for brick, roofs and warm shadows.

    Ultramarine Blue
    A core blue for shadows, skies and mixing natural greys.

    Violet
    Useful for shadow mixes, accents and expressive colour.

    Yellow Ochre
    A classic earthy yellow for stone, brick and warm shadows.

    Gouache

    Lemon Yellow Gouache
    Useful for opaque yellow highlights and small accents. A studio favourite!

    Sap Green Gouache
    Useful for opaque green accents and foliage details.

    Titanium White Gouache
    Useful for highlights, corrections and final bright details. A studio favourite!

  • 15cm Transparent Grid Ruler
    Ideal for checking proportions, perspective and simple measuring.

    30cm Transparent Ruler
    Useful for practising straight lines and checking perspective.

    Kitchen Paper
    Essential for lifting colour, controlling washes and drying brushes.

    Kneadable Eraser
    A soft eraser that gently lifts graphite without damaging the paper.

    Low-Tack Artist's Masking Tape
    Useful for securing paper and creating clean borders.

    Mono Zero Eraser (Round Tip)
    A precision eraser for tiny details, highlights and fine corrections.

  • Brushes

    FUUMUUI Calligraphy Brush No. 1
    Useful for delicate expressive marks and finer loose washes.

    FUUMUUI Calligraphy Brush No. 2
    A lovely all-round travel brush for expressive sketching and washes.

    FUUMUUI Calligraphy Brush No. 3
    Mayad's favourite larger expressive brush for loose watercolour and characterful marks.

    Paper

    FUUMUUI A5 Sketchbook
    A lightweight sketchbook that's easy to carry whilst travelling and sketching outdoors.

    FUUMUUI Watercolour Block Paper
    Ideal for travel sketches, plein air studies and quick colour work on location.

    Palette

    FUUMUUI Travel Palette
    A compact travel palette that keeps your painting kit light and portable.

    FUUMUUI Watercolour Travel Sketchbook (Large, Medium & Small)
    A firm favourite for travelling. The 300gsm cotton paper works beautifully with pen and watercolour, the ring-bound design opens completely flat, and it's available in Small, Medium and Large sizes to suit every sketching adventure. Mayad uses the Large version.

    Pens

    Micron 003 Black
    Useful for finer details and delicate sketch lines on location.

    Micron 005 Black
    A reliable fine liner for travel sketching and architectural details.

    Sailor Fountain Pen(Optional)
    A fountain pen that Mayad enjoys using for expressive travel sketches and loose linework.

    Accessories

    Bulldog Clips
    Helpful for holding sketchbook pages steady in windy conditions.

    Kitchen Paper
    Essential for lifting colour, controlling washes and cleaning brushes outdoors.

    Small Water Container
    Keeps your travel kit compact whilst providing enough water for sketching on location.

    Spray Bottle
    Useful for reactivating paints and keeping washes soft while sketching.

    Travel Tip

    Travel sketching isn't about carrying lots of materials. A small, lightweight kit that you genuinely enjoy using is usually far better than carrying too much. The simpler your kit, the more likely you are to relax, sketch often, and enjoy the experience.

 
Explore Full Materials Hub